AMMAN, April 28 (Reuters) - Arab Bank Group, Jordan’s largest lender, said on Sunday its first-quarter net profit rose to $231.8 million, up 5.2 percent from $220.3 million a year earlier, with loans and customer deposits continuing to grow.

The bank, one of the Middle East’s major financial institutions, said in a statement that loans and customer deposits rose to $25.8 billion and $33.7 billion respectively.

Chairman Sabih al-Masri said the results showed the bank was generating strong results despite the backdrop of the challenging operating environment.